Life without Sex: An Evolutionary Scandal

Life without sex?!?! An evolutionary scandal?!?! Science pron?! Do Tell!! (OK, maybe I embellished a bit here, LOL) Sexually reproducing organisms that abandon sexual reproduction are typically doomed to early extinction. This phenomenon, it has been said, is the chief reason that evolutionary biologists think that sex is essential. ☺ Reports of "ancient asexuals"—eukaryotes that have lived without sex for millions of years—have often not held up to close scrutiny. But then there are the bdelloid rotifers, an "evolutionary scandal." The status of these tiny freshwater invertebrates as ancient asexuals has been confirmed repeatedly. And that’s but one of their remarkable quirks.